The rookie left-winger returned to the Winnipeg Jets lineup after two games in the press box and made a big impression in helping the team end its two-game losing streak.

He scored twice, including the winning goal with 5:58 left in the third period of a 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.

“It felt great,” Lemieux said. “It’s good to be a difference-maker. I thought our line played really well tonight. It’s the first time we’ve had that dynamic with (Andrew Copp) in the middle and (Jack Roslovic) on the wing. I loved our game. We’ve got some stuff we can clean up but I was really happy with our line tonight.”

On the winning goal, Lemieux tipped home a point shot from Joe Morrow.

“Text-book snap back draw from (Copp) and then a perfect shot from (Morrow),” Lemieux said. “He just put it in an area and I was able to get a stick on it.”

His first goal was more of the greasy variety. He poked a loose puck past Oilers goalie Mikko Koskinen after Copp worked it into the crease and had several chances to bat it home.

“(Copp and Roslovic) were both battling,” Lemieux said. “I was fresh off the bench, so I was just trying to hide behind the play and then I just figured ‘This is not where I score my goals … I’ve got to get to the paint,’ so I did that. The puck was bouncing around like crazy I was able to get a whack at it right before the whistle blew and it crawled across the line.”

Jets coach Paul Maurice inserted Lemieux into the lineup in place of speedy rookie winger Mason Appleton, who had a goal and an assist in 14 games.

HELLEBUYCK HITS 100

Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck earned his 100th career NHL victory, making 21 saves against the Oilers.

His biggest, by far, came in the final minute, with the Jets leading by one, off of Oilers’ sharp-shooter Leon Draisaitl, who was gunning for a hat trick.

The scoring chance came after Oilers centre Ryan Nugent-Hopkins emerged from a scrum behind the net with the puck and feathered a backhand pass to Draisaitl on the door-step to the side of Hellebuyck. Draisaitl thought he had a sure goal, but Hellebuyck read the play and snagged the one-timer with his glove, prompting Draisaitl to hold his stick over his head and look to the sky in disbelief.

“I needed to make my mark somehow,” Hellebuyck said. “The guys were playing so well in front of me and to have that game tied was not the way I wanted it to go. I knew I needed to make my mark and I knew he was going to be back door because I couldn’t find him anywhere else. When (Nugent-Hopkins) got on the backhand I kind of assumed he was going there and he did.”

The Jets skaters certainly appreciated the stop.

“It’s a game-saver,” Wheeler said. “We expect that out of him. Those are the saves that ultimately we’re gonna need if we want to get to where we want to go. That was the game right there. He saved it for us.”

It was Hellebuyck’s third chance to get his 100th NHL win and it’s a number he’s proud of.

“I knew I had been chasing it for a while,” he said. “I kind of forgot about it for a moment. I don’t know … I’m really excited, I’m glad it’s with this group of guys and it just says a lot that this team has been built together. I’m very grateful to be a part of it.”

LAINE LOOKS TO PICK IT UP

You won’t get any argument from Patrik Laine if you suggest he hasn’t been playing his best hockey lately.

Though he scored a goal — on a power play laser beam — in last Saturday’s loss to the Minnesota Wild, he hasn’t been on the scoreboard much lately (he scored only three goals in December) and has been more noticeable for his giveaways than anything else on the ice.

That goal, his 24th of the season, could be just the thing to get Laine going again, but right now he believes there are more important things than just scoring to focus on.

“I always want to score but I think my game is still not at that level that I want it to be,” Laine said. “It doesn’t matter if I’m scoring or not, I’m still worrying about the overall game and picture.

“Right now I’ve just got to work to skate harder and play overall good hockey and the success will come after that. I’ve just to try to work hard, try to play good defence. I think that’s what everybody in this locker room is expecting from each other. I always try as hard as I can, try to shoot as many pucks as I can and play good hockey with my linemates.”

Laine scored 18 of his 24 goals in the month of November.

FOURTH-LINE PRAISE

Maurice loved the fact that it was the third and fourth lines driving the Jets on Monday night, making up for the fact that some of the top scorers on the team have hit a dry spell.

“They won us the game in a lot of ways,” Maurice said. “It’s paramount. You cannot ask Mark Scheifele’s line and (Bryan) Little’s to do that all year. They’re going to have their dry spells. They’ve won us a bunch of games there in mid-December where they were just dominant but you can’t expect that. Nobody scores 90 goals in the league. Those guys, they need help. And it’s good for your bench. Everybody almost enjoys it more when a fourth-line guy scores. So it was good for those guys tonight.”

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